







买牛卖剑 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to give up a former way of life, especially one associated with conflict or wrongdoing, and adopt a peaceful or upright occupation; to turn over a new leaf and become good”. Literally, “buy oxen, sell swords”.

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Open the tool →买牛卖剑 (mǎi niú mài jiàn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to give up a former way of life, especially one associated with conflict or wrongdoing, and adopt a peaceful or upright occupation; to turn over a new leaf and become good”.
买牛卖剑 is pronounced mǎi niú mài jiàn in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 买牛卖剑 means “buy oxen, sell swords”. It is used to mean “to give up a former way of life, especially one associated with conflict or wrongdoing, and adopt a peaceful or upright occupation; to turn over a new leaf and become good”.
原指放下武器,从事耕种。后比喻改业务农或坏人改恶从善。同“买犁卖剑”。